The ubiquity of computing devices such as smartphones and wearable devices has given users access to technology at all times. However, user interactions with these devices are often cumbersome. Interacting with these computing devices is of increasing importance and minimizing their negative cognitive effects is critical to usage of these devices in order to allow users to focus on the task they are trying to accomplish, not the technologies they are using to accomplish them. I evaluated how people currently interact with computing devices such as the smartphone, wearable devices, and computers, and how these technologies try to solve computing inputs in order to minimize the negative cognitive effects of user interactions. I achieved this by identifying how users interact with computing devices and how those interactions translate to actions and outputs. I also used literature reviews to understand how people currently interact with computing devices and examined current research on cognitive impacts of human-device interactions. Analyzing how users of these existing devices interact with them informed interaction design decisions for the second part of my study. Using insights gained from this research, I designed and prototyped a wearable technology (WT) that extends the input capability of computing devices to simplify user interactions. The aim of the WT is to provide an easy and intuitive way to send instructions to a device. It uses Bluetooth to communicate with devices and transmit input and outputs between the user and their devices. Computing has become increasingly mobile. It serves as a way to augment life without the confines of space such as with the desktop computer. My research will help to elevate the mobility of computing and inform how we interact with computing devices as they become more ubiquitous.

Street signs, traffic lights, and maps are the predominant navigational cues in society, each being inherently visual. When navigating through pedestrian areas that only provide these cues, people with visual impairments can experience disability. This study proposes the design of a drone for navigation, or NavDrone, a pocket-size, pilotless, and autonomous aircraft that will provide visual description of navigational cues. By creating access to visual information in the environment, the proposed NavDrone can assist people with visual impairments in navigating unfamiliar areas. The NavDrone can be used in place of or in addition to common navigation aids, such as guide dogs and white canes. We conducted a study using Value-Sensitive Design methodology, a technique that incorporates the analysis of human values throughout the design process. The purpose of this study was to investigate how the NavDrone can support the human values of autonomy, access, and safety by providing GPS navigation, auditory feedback and control, visual descriptions, and fine-grained obstacle detection. We conducted a stakeholder analysis and considered the values at stake for users and bystanders of a NavDrone in a public place. We conducted a survey with visually impaired stakeholders to gain an understanding of the value tensions that might arise when relying on a NavDrone to navigate in an unfamiliar public place. In our survey, we prompted stakeholders to reflect on a value scenario and to describe the types of information and strategies that they would use to navigate in an unfamiliar environment. We analyzed the data to find themes and underlying values that informed the technical specifications for the design of a NavDrone. Finally, we reflected on how the values of autonomy, access, and safety are implicated in the design of a NavDrone and how they might be implicated in other assistive drones for people who experience disability.

This project investigates how to create a website system that will store service information, strengthen usability, and improve the website’s function to improve community service needs. One important aspect of creating a helpful website is reinforcing the database management, web development, and information analysis techniques. The organization, Chinese Baptist Church (CBC), hopes to improve their user-friendly website. So the CBC has decided to redesign their website. I investigated community members’ user experiences to improve the old version of the website. I reviewed the written code and analyzed the user feedback for future improvements, utilizing previous skills involving HTML, JavaScript (Ajax, jQuery, etc.), PHP, and CSS programming languages. This includes driving down the bug count before deploying the final product to CBC’s operations and teaching their team members how to use the website and its database efficiently. Currently, I have conducted research and constructed a suitable platform for the new CBC website and database. Our group is investigating the design of the website’s structure. Our goal is to improve the user experience and to make an interesting and significant website serve the local community.